Hot time in the Emerald City: Seattle Mariners’ best starts

Under new manager Lloyd McClendon and with superstar Robinson Cano in the fold, the Seattle Mariners are on top of the American League West, leading the league in runs per game and having just completed the third undefeated month in team history. OK, so it was just one game, but still…

The M’s hot start doesn’t have anyone thinking World Series just yet, but it is enough to get fans excited about baseball being back in the Emerald City. We took a look at the best April records in franchise history to see what they might tell us about this team’s future going forward.

Photo: Rich Pilling / MLB Photos via Getty Images

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First, the worst: 1981

April record: 5-14

The worst team in Mariners history got off to the slowest start in franchise history, wining just a handful of games in a month and costing manager Maury Wills his job. Jeff Burroughs and Co. went on to tally just 39 victories the rest of the season.

Rookie first baseman Alvin Davis came up huge in 1984, hitting .369 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs through April. He’d go on to play in the 1984 All-Star Game and win American League Rookie of the Year, but it wasn’t enough to make Seattle a winner. The M’s finished 74-88, fifth in the A.L. West.

Lefty Mark Langston led the way for the 1987 squad, starting five games in April and sporting a 3.66 ERA and 3-2 record. He’d go on to post a 19-win season, good for fifth place in A.L. Cy Young voting that year, while the team finished with a 78-84 record.

The 1995 Mariners played only four games in April during the strike-shortened 144-game season, but that April was the beginning of great things for the team. Led by Edgar Martinez and featuring players like Randy Johnson and Tino Martinez – not to mention Ken Griffey Jr. and Jay Buhner – the M’s won 79 games, making the first playoff appearance in team history.

The 2000 Mariners attempted to prove there was life after Griffey, and by winning 91 games and earning the club’s first wild card playoff berth, they did just that. A loaded lineup led the way, headed by Alex Rodriguez, who hit .316 with 41 home runs and 132 RBIs in his last season in Seattle.

Bolstered by the return of Ken Griffey Jr. 10 years after his departure – and more importantly a 19-win season from Felix Hernandez – the 2009 Mariners enjoyed a bounce-back season in their first campaign under GM Jack Zduriencik and manager Don Wakamatsu. The team won 85 games but fell back to Earth in 2010, losing 101 games.

The 1996 team continued its hot finish from the previous season. Led by the big four of Griffey, Martinez, Rodriguez and Buhner – all of whom had more than 100 RBIs – the M’s finished 85-76, just missing the playoffs.

After another hot start, the Mariners got back to the playoffs in 1997. A dominant pitching trio of Randy Johnson, Jeff Fassero and Jamie Moyer combined for 53 wins, while unheralded players like Russ Davis (above) filled key roles for the squad en route to a 92-win season.

The last great Seattle team rode a monster year from second baseman Brett Boone – 35 home runs, 117 RBIs – in manager Bob Melvin’s first season to jump out to a great start and win 93 games. But that wasn’t enough to make the playoffs, and the M’s haven’t come close since.

Southpaw Jamie Moyer was “only” 39 in 2002, when he got off to a 3-1 start to help the Mariners jump out to the front of A.L. West. Strong seasons from Ichiro, Boone and John Olerud helped the team win 93 contests, but it wasn’t enough for the team to make it to the postseason.

Ichiro hit the ground running in his very first major league season, hitting .338 for the months of March and April. He never looked back from his strong start – leading MLB in batting for the season – and neither did the greatest M’s team of all-time, as it went on to win a MLB record-tying 116 games and advance to the American League Division Series.